Dogs are man’s best friend. And it’s no secret that we at Short Wave love cats (Regina has four)! Both of these iconic pets have been domesticated – evolved and adapted to live alongside humans – for millennia. And a <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41039604/"target="_blank" >recent study</a> suggests that the common raccoon may be on its first steps towards joining them. So how do scientists look for signs of domestication and what do those signs mean? And could you have a litter box trained raccoon in your lifetime? We talk to the study’s lead author, <a href="https://ualr.edu/news/expert/raffaela-lesch/"target="_blank" >Raffaela Lesch</a>, to find out. Interested in more animal science stories? Email us your question at <a href="mailto:shortwave@npr.org"target="_blank" >shortwave@npr.org</a>. Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at <a href="http://plus.npr.org/shortwave"target="_blank" >plus.npr.org/shortwave</a>. Learn more about sponsor message choices: <a href="https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices">podcastchoices.com/adchoices</a> <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>

Podurama

Home

Trending

Personal

Your Podcasts

New Episodes

My Files

Favourite Episodes

Tags (Folders)

Recently Played

Bookmarks

Followed Playlists

No, Raccoons Aren’t Pet-Ready (Yet)

Short Wave

AI Chapters

AI Insights

Reviews